What we don't

What we like

Leather seats and standard nav lift the cabin ambience

Petrol engine and automatic gearbox at last

Spacious in every row of seats

What we don't

Cheap cabin plastics

Stodgy steering

Dynamic question marks

The W8 occupies the second (and top) rung on the XUV500 ladder, sitting above only the W6 in the two-tier line-up. Landing one on your driveway will set you back $29,990 for a font-wheel-drive version, or $32,990 in all-wheel drive. Those are the drive-away prices, too.

The W8 builds on the W6 standard spec list, which includes 17-inch alloy wheels, air-con with vents (powered by a second compressor) in the second and third row, cornering headlights with DRLs, front and rear fog lights, cruise control and rear parking sensors, adding leather seats, a reversing camera, tyre-pressure monitoring and a bigger, 7.0-inch screen with standard sat-nav.